South Front
A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 510th Fighter Squadron taxis on the flightline at Andravida Air Base, Greece, April 7, 2021. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Thomas S. Keisler IV)
The United States has not yet agreed to allow European countries to train Ukrainian pilots on F-16 fighter jets, The New York Times reported on May 17, citing a senior Ukrainian official.
According to the report, the Biden administration is unconvinced that Ukraine needs the expensive jets. Furthermore, Washington does not want its highly restricted military systems to be duplicated or fall into enemy hands.
Several European countries have already voiced their readiness to supply F-16s to Ukraine. The United Kingdom and the Netherlands announced on May 16 that they are working on an “international coalition” to help Kiev procure American-made fighter jets.
However, The New York Times said that without the approval of the U.S., the training is likely to be limited to technical lessons and technical language only, the newspaper said.
U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said on May 17 that he had no update on the issue of supplying Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets.
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a single-engine multirole fighter originally developed by General Dynamics, and now produced by Lockheed Martin. The fighter jet can deploy a wide range of weapons, including AIM-120 air-to-air missiles, AGM-154 standoff glide bombs, AGM-88 HARM anti-radiation missiles and AGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
The Ukrainian Air Force lost dozens of Soviet-era Su-24, Su-25, Su-27 and MiG-29 fighter jets after the start of the Russian special military operation in Ukraine. Poland and Slovakia both supplied additional MiG-29s. However, the air force is still nearing complete depletion.
Despite its current stance, the U.S. will likely allow its European allies to supply Ukraine with F-16 fighter jets in the end, as a result of pro-war internal and external pressure. However, the delivery of the fighter jets and the training of Ukrainian pilots could take several months, if not over a year. Moreover, they will not likely change the balance of power on the battlefield.
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